The Aftermath
by Suzurin
Summary: Kyle married Cecilia, then took off one day, leaving Cecilia to pick up the pieces. Yue desperately wants to help her friend get back on track, but can she do that and work out her own issues at the same time? Oneshot. Jake x Yue towards the end. Rune Factory 2.


**Well, this fic took a definite turn from what I had originally intended for it to be while I was writing it. Guess that's what happens when you stay up all night writing. Ah well. I hope you like it. :) I have some problems with it, but that's discussed in my AN at the bottom. Anyways. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory 2 or any of its characters.**

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Yue was having an unbelievable day.

Her husband had left first thing in the morning to go comfort his lost love about her missing husband (who would comfort Yue was a valid question at this point); her own son refused to speak to her, insisting she was just like all the other dirty humans he was meant to look down upon; she felt as sick as a dog and had promptly vomited all over her beautiful kimono when she attempted to get dressed, and the Clinic had been closed since everyone, except Yue, had gone to comfort Cecilia, which meant she couldn't find anyone to talk to about any of it because they would all point out how her problems were nothing compared to Cecilia's.

As a direct result, Yue had begun to hate her sweet half-elf friend.

... Well, no, that wasn't quite right. She could never hate Cecilia. She hated—

Abruptly, she pushed away that train of thought. No need to start thinking about such things just after she woke up.

She curled in on herself a little more, dragging the bedsheets fully over her head. Briefly, Yue wondered if her illness would kill her if she just stayed there. It took a little longer than normal for the implication of having that thought to get her to sit up.

The world spun as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She hunched over as a fresh wave of nausea swept through her, harshly swallowing the rising bile. It took a few minutes for the feeling to disappear, and when it finally did she felt exhausted. Getting out of bed should not require this much effort. Maybe she should just consider taking the day off and relax...

With a reluctant sigh, she got up and slowly made her way to the dresser.

**~0~**

After visiting the bathhouse and having a long bath to clear her head (she silently thanked whoever was listening that Julia had opened for business for the day, even if all the blonde had wanted to chat about was Cecilia), she felt slightly more chipper and ready to make it through the day. As she departed from the bathhouse and began making her way along the road, she couldn't help glancing down the adjoining road as she approached the general store. It still seemed surreal to think that even if she walked along that dirt path, she would no longer see Kyle tending to his crops in the field. He would no longer be running around with his son and his monsters, bringing warmth and joy to all who witnessed their merriment. He would no longer answer any and all requests on the board in the plaza, no matter how stupid or ridiculous the request may be.

The ache in her heart was growing. She quickened her pace, hurrying into the general store and slamming the door loudly, as if it would keep away the pain. Yue stood there for a second with her forehead pressed against the door, steadying her breathing. She turned to see Douglas staring at her from his position by the counter. The female mustered up a faint smile, receiving a slight nod in return.

"You okay?" He broke the silence before she could. She hesitated, considering just lying and saying yes, but decided against it. The need to talk was overwhelming, and considering Douglas's straightforward personality, he seemed as good as any to be her confidant.

"Well... No, actually. Neither physically nor emotionally." She laughed awkwardly for a bit. Silence ensued and she stared at the floor, unsure of what to say next. A scraping noise startled her, and she lifted her head to see that Douglas had produced a chair and placed it next to the counter, gesturing her to sit. Yue smiled gratefully and sat.

The general store owner leaned against the counter, seemingly waiting for her to talk. She took a deep breath. "Kyle disappeared two weeks ago." She paused. She knew he already knew that. All of the village knew it. It was as good a lead-in as anything, though. "It was a shock to everyone, especially Cecilia and Aaron, of course. Poor Cecilia was frantic. It took some serious work from everyone to keep her from charging blindly into all of those dungeons in search of him. Even Aaron, who'd been the last one to see him, was in better shape than her. I guess it's true what they say, love makes you crazy," She joked halfheartedly, taking another pause.

"... The girl was in seriously bad shape. Jake and I were always there with her and Aaron, making sure they ate and were alright while everyone else searched for Kyle. She was so desolate, so devoid of life... It was painful to watch." Her voice was breaking now. "And the more time I spent with her... The more I was thankful I wasn't in her position." Her voice broke completely into a whisper and she laughed bitterly. "Terrible, right? My friend's life has been turned completely upside-down, and all I can think about is myself. I'm horrible, right? I'm a monster, aren't I? I... I-I..."

Tears started flowing against her will and she wiped furiously at her eyes. She didn't deserve to cry. A sudden weight on her shoulder made her look up. Douglas was shaking his head.

"You're not horrible or a monster or anything you think you are. You're just like everyone else. We all thought that same thing, 'thank God it wasn't me.' It's just a natural thing to think. But you've been doin' all you can to help her, no way you're a monster." He smiled. "You're a good friend, Yue."

The woman shook her head violently. "No, I'm not! I haven't been helping her at all! I couldn't do a single thing for her! I couldn't make her smile, I couldn't console her, I couldn't take her pain away even a little! I... I haven't even gone to see her the past few days. I couldn't, not with such horribly selfish thoughts running through my head..."

Her conversation partner roughly patted her on the head. "That's why you're a good friend. If you weren't, you wouldn't care one bit about it. Give yourself some credit." He pulled away and walked to the back of the store, messing around with his merchandise. "I'm not gonna force you to go see her. You do what you think is right. All I know is that she's gonna have to get back on her feet soon... And she's gonna need a sharp kick in the pants for that to happen."

Douglas stopped talking and Yue knew the conversation was over. She slumped forward a bit, feeling as if a weight had been taken off her shoulders, also noticing her nausea had disappeared, and thought of what to do next. After a moment, she slid from the chair and shuffled to the door. With her hand on the doorknob, she paused. "Thank you, Douglas," she said quietly, then slipped through the doorway.

The man smiled as he continued his work.

**~0~**

"... Mother? What... What are you doing?"

Yue stopped packing and looked towards the doorway, surprised. There stood Orland, watching her with a mixture of surprise, sadness, and... Fear? Before she could answer, he started babbling. "Is this because of what I said? I didn't mean it Mother, I was just... You're not a dirty human, I promise! You're very clean! And, and Father married you so you're not like all the other humans, and I shouldn't have said that and I'm sorry-"

Yue held up her hand to silence him. "While I appreciate that, what in the world has gotten into you?"

The boy fidgeted nervously in place. She hadn't seen him act like this since he was a toddler, before Jake had gotten to him and turned him into another human-hater. A wave of nostalgia ran through her. His voice brought her back. "Well, you're packing. You're leaving. It's because I was mean to you, right? Don't leave, Mother. Please. I don't want my parent to leave me too..."

Silence. Yue stared at her son, shocked. Orland looked at the ground, glancing up at his mother a couple of times. Suddenly he found himself in her embrace, the bag she'd been packing left laying on the bed, forgotten. Of course. No child would want to be abandoned. Sometimes it was so easy to forget, due to the cold way he always acted, that he was just another child that dearly loved his parents.

"Oh honey... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." She tightened her arms around him as he returned the hug. The woman stroked his hair softly. "I'm not leaving for good, honey. I just need to make a short trip, like I do every couple of months, alright? I have to get something important." She pulled back and cupped his cheek. "I'll be back soon, okay? In a couple of days, I promise."

The mixed-race boy stared into his mother's eyes for a while, then nodded hesitantly. She smiled warmly and gave him another tight hug before returning to her bag. "Have you told Father about this yet?"

She frowned a little, carefully placing the medicine bottles next to the bandages inside the bag. "No... He's been with Cecilia all day, and I've just thought of this journey. I really should be on my way, and I doubt I'll see him on my way out, so could you tell him for me?" She finished packing and slung the bag around her shoulder, adjusting it so it fit comfortably.

The boy's eyebrows knit together in concern, but he nodded nonetheless.

Yue walked towards him with a smile, patting him on the head on her way out. "Good boy. I'll see you soon, okay? I prepared your meals for the next couple of days, they're in the fridge. If you get extra hungry, ask Grandpa Egan to whip you up something, he won't mind."

She made her way down the stairs and to the front door, turning around when she heard her son follow. He stood on the staircase, looking as if he had something to say, but with no intention of saying it. She gave him a small smile and waved before walking outside.

Orland stood there, staring at the doorway. "Come back soon, Mother... Please," he whispered, before rebuilding his walls to hide his vulnerability. Now, to figure out a way to explain this to his father...

**~0~**

Someone up in heaven must have hated Yue. 'A couple of days' had turned into a week. Due to weather conditions, the roads had been absolutely flooded after she arrived at her destination, holding her there for four days. Four. Whole. Days. When they were in the eye of the storm, stupid, impatient-as-hell Yue had jumped on the opportunity and tried booking it home.

Unfortunately, the storm was once again upon her in no time, and she had been holed up in a cave for another couple of days. The wretched storm finally passed, and she hurried home... only to get attacked by an orc archer. Somehow, she managed to defeat it with her frying pan (her frying pan was rather worse for the wear, however), but it had still managed to damage her leg, which slowed her process by a day.

She was practically crawling by the time she reached Alvarna, and she sighed with relief when she saw the familiar buildings. The exhausted woman really just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for an eternity, but she had things to do, and wanted to get them done with as soon as possible. Luckily for her, Barrett noticed her on his way to the plaza and quickly helped her get to the Clinic.

As expected, everyone she came into contact with had several questions about her sudden disappearance, their expressions all mixtures of concern and relief. The ex-traveling merchant felt so glad that so many people cared for her, as well as guilt for not properly explaining to everyone ahead of time. She simultaneously explained and apologized to every person who asked—which ended up being almost everyone in the village—and the sun was starting to set by the time she made it to Cecilia's house.

Not bothering to knock, Yue stepped inside, calling for her half-elf friend when she didn't see her upon entry. Soft footsteps came from upstairs as someone came down the stairs. There was a flash of orange, and suddenly Yue was enveloped in a tight hug.

"Yue! You're finally back! I missed you! Oh, where did you go? Did I do something? Did something happen?" The orange-haired female pulled back, peering worriedly into her friend's face. The other female stared at her with widened eyes in response.

Well, at least she seemed better. The blue-haired female shook herself out of it and smiled back. "I went to another village, no, you didn't do anything, and no, nothing happened. I just had to get something. You seem well. How is everything?" It was an average, everyday sort of question, especially with the casual way she went about asking it, but both women knew the seriousness behind it.

Cecilia's smile had a tinge of sadness to it. "It's been alright. Every day is still hard. Aaron's so strong, he's taken over so many of his father's chores without one complaint. He doesn't talk to me about how he feels anymore. I think he doesn't want to worry me. He's such an angel, I don't know what I'd do without him..." She was reverting back to the heartbroken Cecilia that she'd been ever since the disappearance of her husband. "I'm a terrible mother, I need to get my act together... Jake tells me not to worry about it, that I'll find my strength again soon enough. He's been such a sweetheart also. He's always here, always trying to get me to go out and do things, making sure I eat enough... I'm not sure what I'd do without him either." She smiled sadly again, not noticing how her friend smiled awkwardly back.

"Speaking of Jake, is he here right now?" Yue changed the subject, trying to dispel some of the awkward she felt. She'd discuss how she felt later with the man in question, no need to bring Cecilia into this.

A shake of an orange-haired head answered her question. "Not right now, he took Aaron to go fish for dinner." The half-elf smiled softly. "Those two really seem to have bonded. Well, at least a little." She giggled.

Yue laughed as well as she searched through her bag for the reason she was there. It was always nice to hear when Jake started to open up to people. She felt proud. "By the way, Ceci... I have something for you." Finally locating the item, she closed her hand around it and held her fist out to Cecilia, waiting. Surprised, Cecilia held out her hands and stared at the locket Yue dropped into them.

It was of a rectangular shape with rounded corners, a small design etched onto the front. Upon closer inspection, the design appeared to be the symbol of a heart made by two hands put together. Simple, but cute. She hesitantly opened the locket and gasped. Inside were two pictures: one from her wedding day, and the other clearly of a more recent date, with her, Kyle and Aaron all standing together for a family picture. She looked up at Yue with tears in her eyes. "How did you...?"

Yue spread her arms in a grandiose manner. "Magic!" She dropped them almost immediately, sticking her tongue out playfully. "Nah, I just know a guy who's really good at fine detail. He specializes in paintings for lockets and such, y'know!" Her eyes softened and she took Cecilia's hands, squeezing the locket between them gently.

"Ceci, I know this can't be easy. He suddenly left, saying he had to do something important, and you don't know if he's still alright or not. But sweetie, quite frankly, you can't keep going on like this. You have a son you need to take care of, as well as yourself to take care of. We're all here for you if you need it, you know that. But think of this as your wake-up call." She winked. "When times get really tough, just look at these pictures. There are bad times as well as good times. You can keep going, you can make it. You have everyone behind you, you have your son, and I know Kyle's with you in spirit. He probably can't wait to be here physically, too! He wouldn't want you to suffer like this. So please. With the love of your family, move past this."

Cecilia stared quietly at the pictures as Yue retracted her hands. Eventually, the half-elf nodded, wiping away her tears. She looked at her human friend and smiled. "Thank you, Yue. Thank you so much." They hugged, not knowing what else to say. Really, nothing else needed to be said. As they pulled away, they heard voices coming towards them.

"... just not fair how you caught so much more, I think you cheated!"

"How could I cheat at fishing?"

The door opened. "I don't know, but you did- Auntie Yue?" There in the doorway stood a surprised Aaron and an equally as surprised Jake. The boy ran and attacked his 'auntie' with a hug. "When did you get back? I missed you!"

Yue laughed and returned the hug. "Just got back today. I heard you went fishing, how did that go?"

Aaron pulled away quickly and pointed accusingly at Jake. "He cheated! I don't know how, but all the fish bit his line and not mine!" The boy stuck his tongue out at the older man, but Jake didn't respond to him, his eyes still locked on his wife. She caught his unspoken message of 'we need to talk.'

She smiled at Aaron and patted him on the head kindly. "There, there. You're right, he cheats. So I'm going to take him home and give him a long lecture about cheating, alright? You and your mom have a lovely dinner." Yue hugged Cecilia goodbye as Aaron stuck his tongue out at Jake again, in victory this time. Jake rolled his eyes but gave a small smirk before he grabbed his wife's hand and dragged her out of there.

The walk home was silent but brief, as he proceeded home at a rapid pace, dragging her behind him. She knew he didn't want to talk about this in public.

They got home and Orland's eyes lit up when he saw his mother, but he quickly sat back down when he saw his father's face. He'd have to wait, he could tell.

The couple finally reached their room and Jake closed—not slammed, which Yue felt rather proud of—the door behind them. They stared at each other for a while. Eventually, her leg made it known that it still hurt, so she sat down on the bed, rubbing gently at it. Jake was at her side in an instant, lifting the bottom of her kimono slightly to reveal the bandage wrapped around her leg. He inspected it quietly, his brows furrowing.

"Why?" He finally spoke. She smiled. He was always to the point.

"An orc archer. I took him down, but he got the spring on me." A myriad of emotions flickered across his face at he looked up at her. Yue reached out to tuck a particularly unruly lock of silver hair behind his ear, gently brushing her fingertips against his cheek and watching his eyes flicker shut momentarily at the contact. "I'm alright. You don't have to worry." She softly caressed his cheek and he leaned into the touch.

"You left," he said simply.

"So did you," she replied quietly.

His eyebrows knit together in confusion. "When?"

"Everyday. You left to help Ceci. So did I." He didn't like her logic, she knew. But he couldn't argue with it.

"You always knew where I was, though." Strike that, maybe he could.

She hesitated, knowing she had to finally spill what had been bothering her. "But never if you'd come back."

The look of confusion grew. "Why wouldn't I come back?" Yue began to pull her hand back but his hand shot up and grabbed hers, holding it firmly.

"Why wouldn't Kyle?"

He frowned slightly. "I'm not Kyle. And he will come back."

"No, you're not. But you loved her. I was afraid. And I know he will."

Jake stared at her, seemingly astonished. "You... You thought I would abandon you and Orland?"

She knew how stupid she'd been as soon as he said it. But every time she had worried, all she could remember was how deeply Jake used to love Cecilia, the way that he used to look at her, things like that, and she just worried herself into a hole. She both wanted to voice those worries, and wanted to shut up. "No, not Orland. Just me," She said quietly, looking down at her lap.

He brought his hand up to her chin and tilted her head up slightly to look at him. The intensity in his eyes made her heart pound, and she relished the feeling. She'd forgotten how much she missed that. "After everything we've been through, you doubt my love for you?" His voice was quiet and full of disappointment. Yue wanted to look away in shame, but his free hand had traveled upwards to cup her cheek, rendering her incapable of doing so.

After a moment of staring at each other, he cocked an eyebrow, urging her to respond. She bit her lip. "... I-I was scared. Suddenly Kyle was gone, and he loved her so much, and you were gone every morning, and I only saw you at Ceci's and at dinner, and I was thinking horribly selfish things like how I was glad it wasn't me in that position, and who would want to be with someone so horrible anyways, and you used to love her so much, and the way you would look at her, and, and..." She was purely ranting, she knew, and tears were starting to form. Her husband merely sat there, kneeling before her like he had been since the start of the conversation, absorbing her words.

It wasn't until the tears started making their way down her cheeks that he spoke. "Yes, Kyle is gone. Yes, he loved her so much. If he didn't, I wouldn't have let him have her, after all. I understand why you were scared. I thought..." It was his turn to bite his lip. "I thought you were strong enough to handle all of it." He sighed. "I didn't realize how scared it could make someone. I should've realized that after someone's husband randomly disappears, not seeing your own husband in the morning would be scary. I apologize."

She went to speak, but he continued. "Like I said, I thought you were strong enough to handle it all, so I didn't talk to you as much as I should have. I didn't realize you were feeling insecure. My attention was solely on Ceci. It's unacceptable that I didn't realize you were struggling when you stopped visiting her. Again, I apologize." He gently wiped away her tears and held her hands. "You're not horrible. If you insist on thinking you are, then to answer your question, I'm the one who wants to be with someone so 'horrible'. I did love her, yes. I don't anymore. I haven't for a long time. She's not the one I'm with right now. She's not the one I had a son with. She's not the one I want to spend the rest of my life with."

Yue smiled a little. "She's not the one you had to overcome your hatred of humans for."

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Well, more like she's not the one I had to make a special exception for."

She pouted. "Aw man, I don't even get the credit of softening Mr. I-hate-humans up?"

"Only if I get the credit of making Mrs. I-will-travel-anywhere-and-everywhere settle down."

She stuck out her tongue. "No way. That was a voluntary decision. Besides, I still travel every couple of months for supplies and whatnot."

His eyebrow raised higher. "Yeah, but Orland and I go with you."

She was downright sulking now. "Well, I went by myself this time! So there!"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and look how well that ended up." He pointed at the bandage.

She didn't respond, opting instead to just furrow her brow and close her eyes, since he wouldn't let her look away.

He rolled his eyes again at his wife's childish behavior. "Anyways... what was your last item of concern, again? The way I used to look at her, I believe?"

She refused to respond.

"I guess you've never seen the way I look at you, then. That's a shame."

Her eyes snapped open, but he'd nestled his face into the crook of her neck before she could see. His breathing on her neck made her feel a little dizzy. He wasn't being fair, they both knew. This was punishment for making him worry. "Do I need to prove my love for you, Yue?" He whispered, his lips brushing against her neck as he talked, sending shivers up her spine.

A more carnal part of her urged her to say yes. However, she shook her head slightly, knowing she shouldn't lie. She could feel the depth of his love in every word he spoke, every expression he made, every action he did. Somehow, in the past few weeks, she'd just stopped noticing.

Jake pulled away, and the look on his face made her stop breathing. The look he reserved only for her. The look that, if she had noticed it before, would have stopped her from ever coming up with the idea that he would abandon her for Cecilia. "Too bad. I'm going to prove it anyways."

Suddenly, his lips were on hers and she could breathe again.

Dimly, as she was lowered gently onto the bed, she realized that they probably shouldn't be doing this when their son was waiting downstairs for them, likely concerned about what was going on. It was only after he moved his lips down to the side of her neck that she could speak—well, squeak. "O-Orland is waiting for us downstairs, we should go."

He paused, but didn't move. "I've been waiting three weeks. My son can wait a little longer."

She gasped—of course he remembered where the good spot on her neck was, darn him—and playfully swatted at his shoulder. "H-Hey now, more than half of that time was your own f-fault. N-Now if you'll excuse me, my son is waiting." He finally pulled back and she sighed, both out of relief and disappointment.

"Alright." Before she could move, Jake gently tilted her chin up. "This is what I'm leaving you with." He leaned back down and claimed her lips again, taking advantage of her small gasp to deepen it. He pulled away after a few moments, leaving her out of breath and staring at him.

"Darn you." She reached for him, but he slipped away and made his way towards the door. He held it open with a small smirk, waiting as she glared at the ceiling from her position on the bed. "My leg's hurt, y'know," she grumbled.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, but as we both know, if I go over there again we won't be going downstairs for quite some time." His wife's face reddened at that, and she grumbled some more as she got up. As she limped slightly past him, she grabbed his hand and he intertwined their fingers, just as they always did.

They made their way downstairs to see their son, knowing everything would be alright. The unlikely couple's love would prevail over whatever conflict faced them next. Everyone in the village would support Cecilia and Aaron as their lives got back to semi-normal. Lives would keep moving on, time would keep ticking, and everything would be alright.

That's what Yue believed.

* * *

**I'm just not quite happy with Jake's personality. :/ He seems rather OOC. Frankly, I think I could change it to a Barrett x Yue fic and it would work better. Aghhh. Just a little difficult to think of, y'know? Since a main part of his personality is that he hates humans, how does he treat the human he loves and married? And this is taking place a couple of weeks after Kyle takes off, so Jake's used to being married and having a kid, so he's bound to be more mature (well, at least when it comes to dealing with Yue) and has an easier time expressing his love for her. Plus, I have no doubt that she's made him honestly reconsider his stance on the subject of humans, even if he's only likely to admit that she's the special exception to his hatred. I dunno, I just kinda wish the people who had made the game had actually written some story or change to Jake's character if he marries Yue, rather than just keeping him and his son human-haters. It leads to a lot of confusion. But I guess it's up to the fanfic writers to explain that confusion, huh? Sigh~**


End file.
